You didn’t think I would be too tired for more golf after Bandon Dunes did you? After the Bandon portion of our trip it was off to the Portland area. While in town I was able to grab a quick drink with Sean from breakingeighty.com. Give his site a visit if you haven’t been.

The idea for Pumpkin Ridge came from three partners and the help of a Japanese family. The partners were Marvin French, Gaylord Davis, and Barney Hyde. With additional support from Shigeru Ito and his daughter, Kumiko Rodewald, the building started in 1990. They built two courses, the private Witch Hollow and the public Ghost Creek.

They received a windfall of publicity in 1992 when the Witch Hollow course received the 1996 US Amateur. You may know this little tournament. Tiger Woods happened to win his third straight Amateur. That was a pretty good event to bring notoriety to your courses.

The golf facility is quite nice. Below you can see the clubhouse that services Ghost Creek. There is another private clubhouse as well. There is an ample driving range and putting green as well.

You can see below that the clubhouse has some good memorabilia. It makes sense for a facility that has hosted the 1996 US Amateur, 1997 & 2003 US Women’s Opens, 2000 US Girl’s Junior, 2000 US Junior Amateur, 2006 US Women’s Amateur, and the 2009-2012 Safeway Classics.

Here is a shot of the large driving range. The private one is on the other end of this. Below this is the putting green.

Let’s get down to business. All distances are from the blue tees.

Hole 1 – 392 yards – Par 4

The first hole is not overly demanding. There is a bunker down the right to avoid. Other than that, swing away.

The approach plays to a slightly raised green that is open in front.

The green is quite flat.

Hole 2 – 391 yards – Par 4

This looks like the Pacific Northwest that I pictured. The tall trees frame the tee shot. A little draw works here.

You emerge from the trees for your second shot. There is very little trouble around this green.

Here is a close shot of the green.

Hole 3 – 158 yards – Par 3

I liked this hole. The junk is not really in play unless you hit it really poorly. This was a bit of a sucker pin.

The green is bisected by a ridge you can see on the right. It is imperative to get your ball on the right tier for a reasonable putt.

Hole 4 – 515 yards – Par 5

This tee shot plays uphill slightly. A draw fits best. There is more room up there than it seems.

The fairway cants severely left down the entire hole from here. You will want to be careful you don’t get this shot moving too much left.

The green is guarded by two bunkers seen below. Like most greens here, it is open in the front.

Below you can see the ripples in the green that can make for some interesting putts.

Hole 5 – 193 yards – Par 3

The second one-shotter is another solid one. A long iron is needed, but the architect gives you a big target. You can miss it both ways quite a bit and still catch the green.

Hole 6 – 341 yards – Par 4

A shorter hole at the sixth gives you options. You can bang driver as far up there as you can or play conservative. What I am assuming is Ghost Creek runs up the entire right side and must be respected.

The green is hemmed in by the creek and a bunker. You will want to favor the left side, but long is not great either.

I wanted to get you a view of the unique bunker with the grass island in the middle.

Here is a shot of the green. It is a little smaller than the previous ones.

Hole 7 – 409 yards – Par 4

This hole seems even longer following the sixth. It bends to the left, but you can hit it pretty far right. I thought I had lost my ball after blocking it, but still managed to find it.

The green is raised from the ground around it and guarded by a tree and two bunkers. The chips are tough here so hit the green.

Hole 8 – 497 yards – Par 5

The eighth requires you to hit out of a bit of a chute. If you can play a small fade you will be in great shape.

The view of the approach shows a small green fronted by a large bunker.

The green is very small and definitely set up to accept wedge shots rather than three woods.

Hole 9 – 443 yards – Par 4

This is a strong finish to the front side. The creek is definitely in play up the right side.

The approach can be a little nerve-wracking. You cannot miss left with the pond looming. The shot must be on the right line.

The green is pretty large and not overly sloped. If you get a putt you will have a good chance of rolling it in.

Hole 10 – 474 yards – Par 5

This is a great birdie opportunity. It is a short par five and can definitely be reached in two. The fairway provides a big landing area so pound away.

The second shot plays over a creek that is not really in play. You can run your second up on the green is it is dry enough.

The green is another small one. The creek does extend up to the green as you can see. You want to make sure you don’t go too far left on your approach.

Hole 11 – 170 yards – Par 3

I will say it, the par threes are great here. This creek is easy on the eyes. It can bite you though if your shot drifts right and short.

The green angles away and to the right of the tee. There is a hump you can see on the right.

Hole 12 – 406 yards – Par 4

This hole doglegs to the right. A shot left of the bunkers you can see will play nicely. It plays a little downhill to maximize distance.

The approach plays over quite a bit of sand if you take it at the pin seen here. You can go into the right side of the green and avoid the traps. The mounds around the green probably provided some good spectator areas.

There is some undulation on the far side of the green that you can see to the right of the pin. This place is so green!

Hole 13 – 356 yards – Par 4

The tee shot here is straightforward. Something a little over 200 yard will leave you an easy shot into the green.

The approach slightly uphill with bunkers on both sides.

Here is a shot of the green.

Hole 14 – 219 yards – Par 3

This one is lengthy, but it plays downhill. The green is quite large to receive long iron shots.

Here is a closer view of the green.

You can see below the putting surface is fairly flat with some ripples in the back of the green.

Hole 15 – 531 yards – Par 5

You can bust one off this tee. A draw will get rolling down the hill to the semi-blind landing area.

Here is a view of the second shot.

The green is guarded by the bunkers here that make it difficult to go for it in two. Make sure you carry it all the way there.

The green has two tiers with this pin being on the upper tier.

I wanted to get a picture of the tree next to the green. This thing is massive.

Hole 16 – 133 yards – Par 3

This is a short little hole. It is surrounded by bunkers and rough. Missing the green can result in some difficult chipping.

Here is the green from the side.

Hole 17 – 301 yards – Par 4

This is a shorter hole and you can take a shorter club off the tee. Something 200 yards will work great.

The little creek meanders around the fairway and the green. The green is angled away from the fairway.

Here is another angle from the left rough.

The green slopes downward from back right to the front left. The tier bisects the green back to front.

Hole 18 – 428 yards – Par 4

The finishing hole is strong and requires a long drive. The lake is quite a way out there and not really in play for normal golfers. The creek, however, is in play. Favoring the left side of the fairway is a smart play.

The approach shot plays over the water to a green sitting in a bit of a bowl.

The green is larger than it appears from the fairway. It is one of the larger greens on the course.

I had a great time at Pumpkin Ridge. The course was very playable and fair. The greens had been punched recently, but aside from being on the slow side they ran smooth. It was a treat to play a public course that has hosted so many great events. The course was beautiful with large trees and creeks throughout. This is what I had in my head when I pictured courses in the Pacific Northwest. Having played Bandon I know there are many types of courses in this region, but Pumpkin Ridge was a fun experience on the other side of the spectrum. If you are in the area definitely carve out some time for Pumpkin Ridge. For planning purposes it is about 30 minutes outside of town.

It’s so fun re-reading this after playing Ghost Creek myself. I really enjoyed all the photos in the clubhouse, too! It’s a great course, the play wasn’t too difficult, which made it more fun for me. 😉

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Hi, I’m Jimmy and as you probably guessed I love golf! I am attempting to play the Top 100 and Top 100 Public from both Golf Digest and Golf Magazine.
In addition to that quest I will also be posting about my thoughts on golf, equipment, golf books, food, drink, and golf travel. Come enjoy the ride!

This is Wayne Halm's blog about golf on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It inludes descriptions of rounds played with Kauai visitors, opinions on golf topics, what Wayne is doing, and other things when considered appropriate.